"And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
- Revelation 19:10
One of the most important truths in dealing with the spirit of prophecy is learning how to create the right atmosphere for supernatural divine action. Learning how to operate in the things of God is not difficult or mysterious. However, there are certain conditions that have to be right to reach a place where the power and presence of God can flow unhindered. Faith is obviously a great proponent in making that happen. When Jesus was ministering in his own home town, the Bible says, "he could there do no mighty works...because he marveled at their unbelief" (Mark 6:5, 6). Unbelief can stifle the anointing. On several occasions, Jesus would put everyone out of the house before he would minister to those in need. He knew how essential the right atmosphere was in stirring up the anointing.
Many times God desires to move in our midst but is unable to because the atmosphere hasn't been prepared properly. Notice again what Revelation chapter nineteen says, "...Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). If you want to create an atmosphere for supernatural spontaneous divine action you have to know how to worship. I'm not talking about having a song service or a time of worship where we sing our songs and clap our hands. I'm talking about a time of intimate penetrating worship that reaches deep down in our heart that awakens a separation from the external and allows us to be consecrated to that which is eternal. Here and only here can we truly find that secret place of the Most High God!
Psalm 22:3 says, "God inhabits the praises of his people." The word "inhabits" in the Hebrew means to sit down upon. It describes a king sitting upon his throne. The masoretic text reads "enthrone" - it is the crowning presence of "the" King sitting upon his people. We often use the phrase, "God is in the house!" What we mean by that is the presence of God is moving and things are beginning to happen. It's like a charged atmosphere that is combustible, ready to ignite!
We may not be able to "make" God do anything, but we can certainly create an atmosphere where we "allow" God to do anything! Much of what occurs in our services are not us waiting on God to move, but it is him waiting on us to create an atmosphere so that he can move. When I look around and see folks with that blank stare, being preoccupied with watching people, or even picking through their pockets or purse, I know there can only be a certain level of anointing that can manifest. God in his great mercy has, at times, still moved in spite of the shallow interests presented by some of his own people. But that is not his best! If we want the full manifestation of his power and presence, then we have to create an atmosphere of intimate worship in order to see the spirit of prophecy drop down in our midst.
The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman. He only works when we honor and respect his presence, giving him access to flow by inviting him to have control. He will only take control if we let him. When there is a spirit of prophecy in the house anything can happen! A song, a praise, a testimony, a divine utterance, a drop down message, an operation of other gifts of the Spirit, can suddenly occur because the atmosphere is conducive for it.
What it requires to have a spirit of prophecy manifest in our midst...
1. The whole church needs to be involved in worship. It doesn't take much to grieve the Holy Spirit. When folks are slack in worship, when they are not focused on heavenly things, it can restrict the move of God.
2. Part of preparation is maintaining a healthy prayer life. Even though a few can carry the anointing, it takes everyone being healthy in order to usher in a spirit of prophecy. When everyone is pumped up, it doesn't take much to create an atmosphere all pumped, ready to ignite.
3. We must keep ourselves stirred up for the supernatural. Our spiritual hunger can put a demand on the power of God where the level of expectancy can usher in the sweet, holy presence of God.
4. We must expect God to move at any moment. We have to keep our expecters on at all times. We are not going to have the spirit of prophecy manifest if all we are doing is going through a religious exercise. We have to determine in our hearts, "we are not going out the same way we came in!"
5. We have to become sensitive to the flow of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost has his own order of service. We can sometimes miss what he wants by our agendas. As we purpose to yield all to him he can prompt change where suddenly he takes over and we simple follow his lead. The moment folks learn how to yield their vessel to the unction of the Holy Spirit it can start a chain of events. It's like pop corn. When one steps out in obedience to God others are quickened to obey.
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